== Bharat versus India ==
You might know that India is sometimes referred by a lesser known name ”Bharat”.Is there any difference in how we call the country. How does it make a difference anyway? Lets examine the etymology of these words.
According to Bhagavatha Purana, this country became to be known as Bharat because it was ruled by an illustrious king ”Bharata” the son of Maharaj Rishabha. King Bharata ruled the entire ”Bharata varsha” which in vedic connotation refers to the entire world inhabited by humans. And the word ”India” is an anglicised corruption of the word Hindustan meaning ”The place of Hindus”.
Its intriguing when you compare these two names because one signifies the entire world and other a contemporary place inhabited by ”Hindus” but shrunk in size by the history. The word ”Bharat” signifies a rich culture and heritage patronised by a lineage of great kings like ”Bharata”. Its also interesting to note that the word ”Hindu” is not a native word either, it’s a persian corruption of the word Indu better known as ”Indus” the river. The persians and arabs referred the people on the other side of the river Indus as Hindus. So as you see it makes a lot of difference. When we refer the country as Bharat we refer to a great civilization with a great culture and heritage and when we refer it as India it implicitly signifies a country enslaved, colonized and bruised by invasions on cultural and intellectual spheres. Lets analyse more of the contrasting qualities of the India then and now.
==India: Then and Now.==
Murder in school, Suicides due to depression, increasing divorce rates!!!!! these are the common readings in the daily newspapers these days. How did these social ailments seep into Indian society which was for ages known as an emblem of peace, wisdom, prosperity and all such auspicious attributes?
It is high time for Indians to look back into their rich culture of yesteryears and investigate into the cause of today’s self destructive proclivities and put an end to this mad march towards self-destruction before these evil forces consume our great nation.
===Living conditions and health===
In traditional India people lived in a very healthy environment. Clean breathing air, pure and clean water, nourishing fresh foods brimming with life. Life was never stressed out due to excessive work and deadlines. Trust on each other both in personal and financial dealings were common. Regularly reading sacred Vedic Scriptures and a lifestyle based on simple living and high thinking. A highly evolved and scientific branches of learning in the vedic gurukula system being the hallmark.
Today with the advance in science and technology, Indians breathe polluted air, drink contaminated water and eat toxic junk food. Physically and physiologically we are emaciated. Exploit or be exploited seems to be the thumb rule of business. Dealings based on faith have been replaced by complex laws with loop holes favouring the rich and strong. Indians rarely have time to spend on their spiritual and intellectual well being.But they happily gulp down their throat the pseudo scientific knowledge and manipulated history left down by the then imperialist west in their schools and universities.
And what that education has produced is a confused and myopic population who can’t see what is in real good for them. They copy lavish western traits and try to retrofit in their impoverished Indian surroundings. This has led to large scale complexities widening the divide of have and havenots. And most of the times such influence are self destructive when applied beyond limits. A very good example of this is the pop icon Micheal Jackson who in spite of being blessed with immense talents and fortune had to undergo enormous stress and eventually succumbed to host of illness at an early age all because he had to maintain his status as the pop icon. And the result being he had to die a horrible death. All these problems were virtually non – existent in India even fifty years ago. The present day social menaces such as divorce, suicides in huge numbers, cultural degradation, adultery, drug addiction and murders etc amongst youngsters were unheard of.
=== Sustainable life style in Bharat ===
Previously the necessities of life such as food, shelter, clothing, utilities were taken from nature. [[Cow_ protection|Cow Protection]], Cultivation of land and commerce mostly by barter system were the main functions of the vaishyas (productive class of the society). Since the people lived as per the Holy Scriptures, there were abundant rains. There was enough nutritious food for the whole society. Previously a person was considered wealthy if he had grains and gold. ”dhaanyavan dhanavan” as compared to the paper currency which as such has no value on its own.
People travelled in a simple way by bullock carts or horse carriages as they didn’t have a need to travel at monstrous speeds although they had the [[vimanas|technology]] for it. There was no question of air, water and land pollution leading to so many diseases and ailments. And an economy based on non-renewable energy resources and un-sustainable infrastructure.
Now with the introduction of paper currency and manipulated economy, a small section of society is amassing wealth at the cost of starving millions. Previously there was no such thing as economic recession, large scale layoffs etc. People worked hard, ate sumptuously and lived happily with whatever they had.
=== Bharat a center of learning and innovation ===
Our ancestors have left behind a great treasure of knowledge in the fields of mathematics, architecture, astronomy, medical sciences etc. If we explore into this treasure, we can benefit immensely from all that knowledge. Below are a few drops from the vast ocean of the wisdom of India. Here is a list of [[Indian_scientific_contributions|contributions]].
Now with the inclusion of modern education, Indians are gradually becoming aliens in their own culture, they have accepted the anthropological hoax stories such as Darwin’s theory of evolution of human beings from apes.
==Root cause analysis.==
Although in one sense this degradation of culture is pre-destined and [http://vedanase.net/sb/12/2/en predicted] in the scriptures. The factors that influenced the degradation are two. The first being the cultural invasion from the west, a seed successfully sown by the the British that the west is always the best through its education system. In fact just after the independence there was an opportunity to set things right which was squandered by pro-western administrators like Nehru who have ruled India for most of the time. The second being the lack of any curriculum in the education system on their own culture and heritage due to the ”undue” stress on neeed to be secular in Indian democracy. There was a void created in the intellectual space which was duly filled in by the western intelligentsia. And as the interaction of Indians with the outside world has increased, Indians are becoming more and more fascinated and enamored by the western culture which is based on the principle of optimal sense indulgence such as intoxication, free mixing of men and women, merciless killing of mother cow, abortion of human fetus etc. without any consideration of what is permitted and what is prohibited for cultured human society.
==The Vedic Culture in the heart of Bharat==
The vedic culture was centered around leading a happy and meaningful life. The Vedic literatures gives a comprehensive sustainable forumula for ”dharma” (regulated life), ”artha” (economic development), ”kama” (fulfillment of desires) and ultimately ”moksha” (fulfilling the purpose of life). We would be happier, healthier, wiser and ultimately make progressive advancement towards achieving the ultimate goal of live (salvation) if we value and live by the principles of Sanatana dharma which is ”Simple living and High thinking’ centered on cultivation of spiritual knowledge of sacred scriptures such as Srimad Bhagavad-Gita and living by the principles taught therein.
In fact the argument that all these principles donot hold good in this social situation is incorrect because even to this day the Amish community have been maintaining their traditional orthodox social setup.
==Conclusion.==
Hoping that the grass is green on the other side, Indians are giving up their own rich heritage and adopting the western ways of living. But this has only led to so much of misery and chaos both individually and collectively.
Human being is blessed with higher intelligence which should be employed to inquire into higher truths of life. The humans must inquire about the source of creation, maintenance and annihilation of this cosmic manifestation and put forward question such as who am I? Who is God? What is the purpose of my life? How to end the miseries of life such as repeated birth, death, old age and disease (janma, mrityu, jara and vyadhi) etc?
The Santana dharma or what is called the traditional Vedic Indian life was designed in such a way that people could lead a peaceful, happy life with God in the center while they are living and simultaneously prepare themselves for the journey of the soul (who is the actual person) after the death of the temporary and mortal body.
What India should do is to strike a balance between the traditional values and modern techniques and chalk its own path in its quest for advancement.
[[Absolute_Truth:Authors#mgdasa|Chandrasekar Gani]]
[[Absolute_Truth:Authors#lndasa|L Narasimha Rao]]